Ever wonder why vinyl albums died? Could it be because they weren't portable? Probably not, but imagine how cool it would be if turntables were portable. How much more entertaining would it be to see your favorite scratch artist moving on stage instead of glued to the ground behind their turntable?

The Scratchophone looks like a Conga drum, but it's really a portable scratch instrument. A what? The Scratchophone combines a turntable, tonearm, mixer, speakers and a rechargeable battery, all housed in a customizable drum-like shell.

The basic Scratchophone is available for $1,617, ready to go out of the box. If you have components that you want to use, you can buy a kit to complete your own. The drum alone is about $160.

Take your music out into the spotlight — or sunlight. Check out a video of the Scratchophone in action after the jump, along with more pics.

Via Scratchophone